The United States is a nation facing a profound and fundamental decision - Who are we going to be? The greatest threat to America's enduring legacy of self-determination, self-reliance, and personal responsibility is the people themselves. The crux of our democratic republic is an active, informed, and responsible citizenry. "Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty." - Wendell Phillips

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Republican Resurrection

In the three weeks that have passed since Barack Obama won
reelection, it has been interesting to hear the multitude of reasons and
opinions as to why the Republicans were unable to unseat the disastrous forty
–fourth President of the United States.Many blame Mitt Romney for running a poor campaign, not presenting a
detailed enough plan, or not appealing to a broad enough cross-section of the
American electorate.Others put forth
the argument that the Republican message of limited government and self-earned
prosperity no longer resonates with a voting public that has begun to embrace
an entitlement culture.There is a
measure of truth in each of these arguments, but the biggest obstacle for the
Republican Party to overcome, is the party itself.

The GOP is already at a disadvantage due to being the party
of reality.They have the audacity to
bring up the taboo subjects of reforming our broken entitlement system,
securing our southern border, and tackling our lingering economic doldrums by cutting
federal spending.These are areas that
continue to be ignored by the current administration in order to stoke the
fires of discontent by pandering to envy with worthless class warfare, crying
wolf over access to abortions and contraception, and fostering a general sense
of victimization.Actually dealing with
these issues and the inevitable pain that would accompany any serious solution is
much less appealing than the fairytale peddled by the Democrats that these
things will simply take care of themselves.Eventually we will have to face reality, but most are content to delay
the inevitable for as long as possible.

The Democrats are a loyal bunch.The behavior or qualifications of their
candidates and sitting representatives have no impact on their patronage. The Republicans are a principled bunch, so
much so that it has led to ever increasing fractures in the conservative
coalition.The Tea Party movement, libertarian
candidates, and the decrease in Republican voting participation in the 2012
Presidential Election are all evidence of a party unwilling to compromise or
fully support someone that does not align closely enough to strict ideological
requirements.We will never have a
viable third party, as this would require a relatively equitable defection from
the two primary parties.This will not
happen as the Democrats seem quite happy to stay put.What is possible is the demise of the
Republican Party as its members are quite willing to break into factions in the
name of purity of political philosophy.Without unity, you have a party shooting itself in the foot.

With a socialist president occupying the White House, you
would figure there would have been a great conservative ground swell doing all
it could to improve their nominee’s chances in the general election, but it did
not materialize.Instead the Republican primaries
were an exercise in futility, pushing their candidates ever further to the
right and providing sound bite after sound bite of destructive material the
Democrats were all too happy to use during the presidential campaign.This cry for an ultra-conservative candidate
did nothing other than making the Republican hopefuls increasingly unappealing
to the moderate general electorate, further reducing the chances of the
eventual nominee claiming victory.What
did Mitt Romney’s migration further to the right earn him?Nothing. The collective pouting by Republican voters
that refused to back him for not being the ultra-conservative they craved
manifested itself in a lower turn out for Governor Romney than what had turned
out four years earlier for Senator McCain.Ironically, Romney was viewed as being the more conservative alternative
to McCain in 2008.By staying home, those
that most oppose Obama’s far leftist ideology ensured it another four years as
the nation’s guiding philosophy.Counterproductive
is the understatement of the year.

As I have stated previously, President Obama’s campaign was
based on, and his reelection was the product of, the American electorate’s
general ignorance.The Democrats made
their stand with simpleton tenants meant to evoke baseless anger and a sense of
victimization.Punishing the rich, being
the defenders of cheap or free contraception, and warning that a Republican
president would result in a heartless corporate America became the talking
points relentless recited.Fabricating a
war on women, painting the Republicans as racist for wanting to address illegal
immigration with something other than amnesty, and continuing to engrain the
notion that government exists to provide for all citizens were all calculated moves
to reinforce the GOP’s unwarranted reputation as old fashioned, out of touch elitists.Meanwhile, Republicans continued to prescribe
to an outdated and naive belief that the American people were just too
competent to fall for this barrage of propaganda and lies.In the battle between substance and
trivialness, trivialness won.

Cheesy slogans like Romnesia and corny bumper stickers
reading GM is Alive and Osama Bin Laden is Dead struck a chord with an American
public that tunes out once something exceeds the confines of a one-liner.Added to this was the melodramatic buffoonery
of Joe Biden which for reasons I still do not understand resonated with many voters.In the end, all of these things were well
executed strategies by a political campaign that knew its audience very well
and successfully seized on the fact that it lacked the attention span necessary
to see these things for what they really were, mere distractions necessary to
divert attention from the administration’s record of epic failure.The Republicans meanwhile defiantly maintained
their enduring belief that the American voter is ultimately a responsible citizen;
this was their Achilles heel and ensured their eventual failure in the election.Their unwavering faith blinded them, even
when polling showed it was not warranted; they continued to give American
voters far too much credit for being logical, rational, and educated.Ironically, the party that believed and took
advantage of the ignorance of the electorate was rewarded with reelection,
while the party that foolishly clung to a conviction in the soundness of the
American citizen continues to be pigeonholed as ruthless aristocrats hell-bent
on benefiting only the well-to-do.

America has changed; the 2012 election was decisive evidence
of that.In order to be successful, the
Republican Party needs to adjust or it faces increasingly difficult times.I don’t believe they should adopt the
Democrats’ strategy of deception and divisiveness, but a more realistic view of
the electorate is a must.They can no
longer rely on voters being competent; it is blatantly obvious those days are
past.Combating their media hyped
reputation as a bunch of condescending uber-wealthy
plutocrats must be countered with consistent, real world positive results or
the future will be filled with their candidates being dismissed as nothing more
than an out of touch elitist robber barons.The GOP must also have a great coming together, an understanding that
ideological purity is a poor substitute for contributing to the election of
your political polar opposite. This is
now a country where perception is more important than reality as the people are
unwilling to look beyond the carefully crafted surface.Substance takes too much effort when the
American voter is involved.The GOP
needs to keep its messages simple, enlist dynamic and charismatic candidates,
rebuild party loyalty, and resist giving the people the benefit of doubt.Learn from the mistakes of the past and
remember the unfortunate status of the current American political climate -
your odds are always better when you bet on stupid.

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